


Take Me Home to My Heart

by Lilylovesbones



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur's Return, Fluff, Future Fic, Insecurity, M/M, Once and Future King
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-09-14
Packaged: 2017-12-26 13:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilylovesbones/pseuds/Lilylovesbones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someday, you think to yourself, someday there’s going to be something harder to accept in this new, modern life you have to live.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take Me Home to My Heart

You’ve begged him to teach you how to drive since you accepted cars as a substitute to horses nearly five months ago, but it was hard to accomplish: Merlin is constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Someday, you think to yourself, someday there’s going to be something harder to accept in this new, modern life you have to live.

And Merlin is only waiting-again- for the day you will freak out completely and decide to escape it all. Now that you think of it, it’s probably the reason why he adamantly refused to move closer to the village when you innocently mentioned how small the hut was going to be for the two of you: you both have rooms for yourselves, but Merlin’s is too small and he deserves so much more.

The journey to the village isn’t very long, just a few miles passing through the woods overlooking the lake and the bell tower of St. Anne’s Church comes into view. Not many people live around here during the year, just one or two elderly couples who opted for the Welsh countryside when time for retirement came up. A nice place where to see your grandchildren run happily around.

Not for the first time you wonder if Merlin ever had grandchildren of his own. 

When you two met again, nearly two years ago, he looked like that fool of an old man you’d accused of causing your father’s death. His eyes, once a shining kind of blue, were lifeless when they first settled on you. Well, not entirely lifeless. Just...hopeless. 

You try to imagine Merlin as a father, an ever-present figure ready to do the impossible for the happiness of his children, always ready to teach a lesson or care when necessary.

Everything your father had lacked, Merlin would have had plenty with his heirs.

And there he is again, looking outside the window with a small, content smile on his lips as trees passed by. The sun rays colour his feature with warm oranges and yellows, and you wonder when autumn decided to make an appearance. 

Last year you prepared for winter staying indoors to watch television for you to learn from, repeating idioms and slangs for you to memorise. Merlin laughed for the first time during one of your lessons, the realisation of how much you had missed it hitting you in the guts as Leon’s mace during one of your trainings.

He laughs more now. He no longer pretends to be fine when he is not. You’ve learned to talk to each other as you didn’t before and you know that this is going to help you both with time.

Some nights, when the sun sets early and the night sky is bright, you lay down in the back door garden with some duvets to stargaze. Merlin says he studied a lot while waiting for you, so he teaches you what he knows about stars but this time it’s just for fun. Something you can love in secret without others having to know.

During those nights, his head sits on your chest as he points star after star with his long fingers, still calloused by the centuries of work he threw himself into to forget. Most of the times you don’t even listen to him because you’re too busy watching him as you never did before: you wonder how long the dimple on his chin has been there, how could you not have noticed that his eyes sparkle with joy whenever he speaks about something that he obviously loves. 

Those are the times you kiss him out of the blue and immediately regret it, not because you don’t love him, but because he closes into himself right after.

You want to convince him you’re not going anywhere this time, that he’s stuck with you for good but when you try to tell him just nods and look away. He never watches you in the face.

But today is different, because when you’re done with parking the car-careful, Arthur, please: we can’t afford another-you get out to open his door and you capture his hand into yours and begin pulling towards the bakery.

“I was thinking about trying those eclairs you mentioned last week” you hum watching the window “And then we should really go to Miss Atkins to look for a new shower curtain. I don’t even want to know how you managed to burn this one”

“It was an accident” he mutters.

“You said the same thing about the last one. But it’s okay, I love you anyway” and you try to rewind but Merlin is the one with magic and he refuses to teach you tricks.

“What did you say?” he asks, his voice shaking slightly.

And you can’t stand the uncertainty in his voice, so you kiss him just to shut him up before he says something absurd that would only drive you mad.

“I love you, and I’m not going anywhere. Get over it” you remark, kissing him once more on the forehead and leaving him outside to buy the biggest chocolate sweet you can find for him.

“You’re a prat” he says when you come out and offer him a mint-chocolate cupcake “Only you would tell me you love me after you have just finished insulting me. Weren’t for the fact that I love you too I would have left you a long time ago”

You smirk. And kiss him again for good measure just to make the point of how much you love him clear, to make sure he has no doubt about your feelings.

Because he is the bravest, most loyal and powerful warlock in the world. Because he waited one thousand, four hundred sixty-nine years, five months and three weeks for you to return and never complained out loud-he never needed to, his silence was enough to make you curse whoever picked that destiny for him. 

Because knowing he’s going to be by your side whatever comes your way makes you breathe a little bit easier. 

Because you love him more than anything you’ve ever loved before.


End file.
